Penalty kill a Sound Tiger bright spot

Michael Fornabaio

Published 8:02 pm, Wednesday, November 20, 2013

BRIDGEPORT -- Even with injuries on defense, even with the ups and downs of a young team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers' penalty kill has quietly put together an excellent run.

"I think it's just commitment level," rookie forward Riley Wetmore said. "Everyone's commited to blocking shots, to getting the puck 200 feet. We learned that in Springfield, when we had a couple of chances to clear the puck and didn't."

The two goals Bridgeport allowed to Springfield on Friday -- one of them on a five-on-three -- are the only two power-play goals allowed in the past four games.

The Sound Tigers had allowed 10 power-play goals in the first seven games to plummet near the bottom of the AHL standings. Giving up just five in the past seven has moved them up to 22nd in the 30-team league.

"We're starting to get it," Bridgeport coach Scott Pellerin said. "We're making good decisions, pressuring at the right times, taking away passing lanes. And we're getting good goaltending, big saves at the right time." Bridgeport has killed 23 of the past 25 chances against it (92 percent), 31 of the past 34 (91.1), 40 of 45 (88.9).

The longest of those streaks began with four games in which the team went 3-0-0-1. The team has lost the past three.

"The big thing is we've got to stay out of the penalty box," Pellerin said. "There's no place for undisciplined penalties."

In their first nine games, the Sound Tigers' opponents had more power plays than Bridgeport only once; the Sound Tigers yielded 48 power-play chances. They have faced 32 chances in the past five games, including nine on back-to-back nights against Hershey and Adirondack.

"It's just kind of one of those fluctuations during the season," Pellerin said. "It's something we've talked about at length. Guys have been held accountable for their mistakes when they've taken undisciplined penalties. It's something we've really focused on to play a team game."

But Anders Lee and Ryan Strome are among those who've had some time with the unit. Chris Langkow and Sean Wiles (who has been out of practice since a Monday injury) stepped in on the penalty kill last weekend when they arrived on pro tryouts.

"It's all about putting players at the right position to have success," Pellerin said. "It's taken a while to learn what roles guys could fit. That's still evolving."